


Saving You

by Nightfoot



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: F/M, Love Confessions, Romance, Tales of Secret Santa 2019, bittersweet fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22576288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightfoot/pseuds/Nightfoot
Summary: After returning triumphant from Tarqaron, Flynn finds Estelle alone at night.  They have some things to talk about.
Relationships: Estellise Sidos Heurassein/Flynn Scifo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	Saving You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Whitnium](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whitnium/gifts).



> I wrote this for Whitnium for the 2019 Secret Santa! I hope you enjoy it as much as she did.

Flynn felt like a wind-up toy worn down when he collapsed into a chair in the Aurnion inn. Just standing long enough to pry his armour off had been exhausting. It now lay in a heap at his feet as he slumped into the chair.

“You look beat.” Yuri lay on one of the beds, which he had fallen onto without even taking his boots off.

“You’re one to talk.”

Yuri folded his arms and closed his eyes. “Guess it’s been a busy day, huh?”

“A busy day….” The busy part was indisputable, but he had trouble believing it had only been one day since they set out for Tarqaron. In that one day, the world had changed so much. They’d faced Duke and the Adephagos only a few hours ago, and had arrived victorious at the gates of Aurnion less than twenty minutes ago. Tomorrow, Flynn would have a meeting with Ioder and Harry to discuss all that had happened and still needed to be done, but for now, he had blessed peace.

The door to the inn opened and Raven stepped in. Flynn instinctively straightened up in the presence of Captain Schwann.

“Hey, do either of ya know where Estelle wandered off ta? Rita was wonderin’.”

Flynn straightened up even more. “Lady Estellise is missing?”

“She went for a walk,” Yuri said without opening his eyes. “She told me just after we got back that she wanted to clear her head.”

“I think I could use a clear head myself,” Raven said. “I’ll let Rita know.”

When he was gone, Flynn said, “Do you know what direction she wandered off in?”

“Away from the gate. Toward the river, I think.” Yuri opened his eyes and turned his head. “Why? You worried about her?”

“No.” He tried to make himself comfortable again, but couldn’t relax. “I’m sure she’s fine. It’s just… well, she was worn out from how much healing she’d been doing. We’re all exhausted, and I know she’s been troubled about the Adephagos and her unfortunate role in it….”

Yuri closed his eyes again. “If you’re that worried, go find her. And maybe kiss her while you’re at it so I don’t have to deal with your emotional constipation anymore.”

The last traces of energy he hadn’t known he had flared to life in a spike of anxiety. “I – my what? I don’t – why would you – I don’t have a crush on Lady Estellise!”

“Uh-huh, that sounds exactly like what someone who doesn’t have a crush would say. Just go see her and let me sleep, will you?”

Flynn dragged himself out of the chair. “I’m going to go make sure she is alright. It has nothing to do with… with anything else you said.”

Flynn huffed out of the inn. It was almost midnight, and the clothes that had been under armour all day were sweaty, making him more cold than the light breeze ought to. At least, he liked to think it was the breeze giving him goosebumps and making him anxious.

Yuri was stupid. He was just pulling stuff out of his ass. There was absolutely no way that… that… that Yuri could know how Flynn felt when he’d pointedly never brought it up. Maybe Yuri had just noticed how amazing Estelle was and assumed that it was only natural that Flynn had feelings for her, because Flynn found it hard to believe that everyone else who had ever met Estelle didn’t also fall in love with her. In fact, Flynn had spent the past few months terrified of the prospect that Yuri had also developed feelings for her, and the way Yuri had carelessly sent him off reassured a lengthy fear. 

Then Flynn reached the main gate of Aurnion, and his anxiety came crashing back. Estelle was not down by the river or even walking along the inside of the wall. She had decided to leave Aurnion all together, and was standing in the grass beyond the town with her gaze fixed on the sky. 

Then she startled and drew her sword. A monster, low to the ground and covered in plated armour, crept through the grass toward her. 

“Estellise!” Flynn found hidden reserved of energy accessible only by panic to sprint across the field toward her. He was too tired to think clearly. Any thoughts about her having fought hundreds of monsters before flew out of his mind and the fact that she had held her own in a fight against Duke only hours ago didn’t seem to matter. He just had the sudden terror of watching her get mauled to death just when he thought all was well, and it drove him to charge forward. 

He slammed his sword into the Erdas’ side, taking it by surprise. It hissed and jerked around, slashing at him with a clawed arm. Flynn was so used to wearing armour that he didn’t even try to evade the slash in the half a second he had to react, and pain ripped through his left arm. 

The monster was on its last legs though. Estelle had already injured it and his surprise attack had struck deep into his chest. It only took one more thrust of his sword to make it collapse to the ground.

Panting, Flynn held his hand over his bloody forearm and tried to summon the aer to cast First Aid. When nothing came, he felt like he’d missed the top step in a dark staircase. Of course – they’d gotten rid of blastia only hours ago. 

“Flynn!” Estelle grabbed his arm and held her own hand over it. Light flashed and the familiar tingle of magical healing rushed through his arm. The wound closed, though he pulled it away from her to clutch the still-aching arm to his torso. 

“Are you alright, Lady Estellise?”

She stared at him and then began to laugh. “Me? Of course I am! You’re ok though, right? I healed your arm ok? Did you get hurt anywhere else?”

“I’m perfectly fine. Please don’t worry about me; I came to help you. What are you doing out here, anyway? It’s dangerous to be outside the walls at night.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just… wanted to look at the sky.” She turned to resume gazing up at the black expanse and its thousands of twinkling stars. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Flynn watched the moonlight gleam in her dreamy eyes and couldn’t help smiling. “Yes. It is.”

“For a while, I’ve avoided looking at the sky. Every time I glanced up, the Adephagos was there, waiting. It’s finally gone now, though.”

Flynn finally stopped staring at her face to look up as well. She was right; the night sky really was beautiful. He realized that he’d been avoiding looking up, too, and was relieved to see the moon uninhibited again. “It’s such a relief that everything is over.”

She lowered her gaze. “That’s right… it’s over, isn’t it?”

“You sound sad.” He looked to her. “Aren’t you glad we don’t have to worry about the Adephagos anymore?”

“Of course I am! I am so thankful that we’ve taken care of it. It’s just… it’s… well, everything else is over too, isn’t? Travelling with everyone, I mean.”

“Do you plan to return to the castle?” Flynn struggled to keep his voice level. 

“Well… I’m not sure. I feel like I have to, because I have a duty to help Ioder. It’s going to be so difficult for him with all the blastia gone. But, I also want to keep travelling with everyone. Going on adventures with Brave Vesperia has been the happiest time of my life, even with all the horrible things that have happened. What do you think, Flynn?” She looked to him expectantly.

Flynn fiddled with his sore arm to give himself more time to think. He desperately wanted Estelle to return to the castle so he could see her everyday, but that was selfish. More than anything else, he wanted her to be happy. If being happy meant leaving Zaphias, he would just have to deal with that. “I think you should do what you feel is best. I used to think that the best place for a princess was the castle, but you’ve become so much more than the flighty girl I knew back then.”

“Hm…. Do you want me to stay?”

More than anything. The thought of going back to live in the castle and not be able to look forward to her running down a hall to greet him with a smile and a laugh crushed him. But, this was her life and it shouldn’t be about him. “You’re an intelligent, brave, and resourceful woman, and I wouldn’t presume to tell you how you ought to live your life.”

“O-oh…. Thank you, Flynn. I’m so resourceful and brave that I couldn’t handle a single Erdas, though, hm?”

Flynn froze. No, damn, he hadn’t meant to offend her! He felt like crap and only the slight smile to indicate she was more amused than upset kept him from grovelling at her feet. As it was, he still gushed words with little forethought. “Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to insult you capability. Of course you’re able to defend yourself, Lady Estellise, I just… when I saw a monster going toward you I panicked. I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to you, not again, I couldn’t live with myself if I failed to save you again-”

Estelle’s slight smile had turned to surprise and upset at his last sentence, and then she cut him off with a finger pressed to his lips. “Flynn….” With her other hand, she took his gently. “I told you I don’t blame you for what happened with Alexei, didn’t I? It isn’t your fault. You didn’t know what Alexei was planning.”

When she lowered her finger, Flynn struggled not to visibly cringe. “But I should have.”

She squeezed his hand tighter. “There are things I regret not seeing sooner, too.”

“Like what?”

“Things like… like how much I care about certain people. How important some people are to my life. Maybe if I’d realized how I felt sooner, we’d both be in a different place by now.”

Flynn’s anxiety made him feel like he was breathing through a straw. “W-which people…?”

She took his other hand. “Flynn… if you have to save me today to make up for not saving me before, there’s one thing you can do that I would really appreciate.”

“What might that be?”

“Be the deciding factor in me staying in Zaphias or not. My choice is between being with my loved ones or staying to do my duty. But, maybe if Zaphias also had a loved one… if it had, um… a person I care deeply for who wanted me to stay… then I could make my decision. So, I’ll ask you again. Do you want me to stay in Zaphias?”

She met his eyes. Her hands were trembling. Her face was flushed with nerves. The question was so much more than where she should live and the thought of answering it truthfully terrified him. However, the thought of not answering truthfully, and the life-sans-Estelle he would have – physically and emotionally – the moment he told her to leave was even more dreadful. Faced with those two prospects, there was really only one choice.

“Yes,” he whispered. “Yes, I want you to stay… with me.”

Estelle’s nervous expression spread into a broad smile. “Really?”

Flynn hadn’t expected needing to confirm it twice and fumbled through a, “Um, yes?”

She pushed herself to her tip-toes and kissed his cheek. Warmth spread from her lips to his face, and then rushed down his spine in a wave of giddiness that threatened to take out his knees. His legs felt like collapsing, so he used that as an excuse to grab Estelle and pull her against him. From there, it was easy to reach her upturned face and kiss her lips.

Flynn had daydreamed about this for longer than he cared to admit. He’d always brushed those daydreams aside as silly, because there was no way it would ever be possible for him to kiss the princess. Even once he was appointed acting commandant, he still assumed it was a distant dream because it still relied on her wanting to kiss him back. Today, though, they had destroyed the Adephagos and rewritten the structure of the world. It was already such an impossibly weird day; this might as well happen.

So, he ran his fingers through her hair and clutched her to his chest until she finally backed away. Her arms still circled his neck, and she smiled at his expression. He could only imagine it was some combination of baffled, overjoyed, and exhausted.

“Ok,” Estelle said. “I’ll stay in Zaphias. Thank you for saving me from having to make that decision.”

“Of course.” He traced his fingers along her cheek. “I’ll save you however many times it takes, no matter how big or how small.”

“How many times it takes for what?”

“For me to forgive myself for failing to save you the one time it really mattered.”

Estelle smiled sadly and then leaned forward to rest her head on his shoulder. “Oh, Flynn. Now I’ll have to go throwing myself into danger over and over again to try to help you find that forgiveness.”

Flynn stroked the back of her head. “Please don’t, Estellise. I don’t think my heart could take the stress. And for now, I don’t think I can stay awake much longer. Will you accompany me back to town?”

“Yes. A bed sounds wonderful.” She slipped her hand into his to walk back to Aurnion.

Despite his exhaustion, Flynn had a spring in his step as he joined her on the walk to the inn.


End file.
